FutureActive

futureactive

...written and compiled by spank.

twelves | groove connection tour | grind creative collective / elevate

The first I heard of the new Grooverider album was July in Oxford, when I saw Matrix open his DJ set by dropping the awesome 'Where's Jack the Ripper'. If that night turned out to be a little tedious - after a while the two-step was just too damn dull - then the 'Mysteries of Funk' album managed quite the opposite. Due to the production skills of man-of-the-moment Optical perhaps, but it did serve to lure me here to Warwick to check out the 'Groove Connection' tour, with the 'Rider topping the bill.

I walk in, and the familiar sounds of 'Jack the Ripper' are menacing the venue. Addiction is in the booth, and it's not long before I'm out on the dancefloor. I pretty much stay there all night. Fortunately, unlike that evening with Matrix, the night sees a whole barrel of breakbeats that, while not quite capturing the frenetic dynamism on the scene a couple of years ago, is enough to keep my mind, as well as my body, locked on.

It's as Kemistry and Storm take the torch that my eyes settle on the visuals. Projected on a screen, the Manga cartoons don't show acrobatic violence (as I had seen in this same venue last year with Ed Rush DJ-ing) but instead depict a young lad spying through a keyhole into the girls' changing rooms as they undress. Sexy drum'n'bass? Some seem to think so - I am shocked to see girls out in their pulling gear. It's telling - d'n'b now drawing in the house crowd. A couple practically have sex with each other right next to me on the dancefloor fochrisake.

Kem & Storm leave us, saying farewell with a track that none of us know how to dance to (the beats seem to arrive just after they should do) - total respect for that one, things have been getting a bit too easy nowadays. Fabio takes to the decks. This for me marks the high point of the evening, already beyond exhaustion but unable to stop. I allow the breaks to program my body's movement as I cast my eyes around and see how everyone seems so caught up. I notice a guy sat on the front of the stage, crutches propped up against him, flailing his arms back and forth.

The 'Rider takes over for the last forty minutes. I notice the visuals have changed - we now see photos of the DJs and Groove Connection logos flashing up. It's all bizness now. But my body and mind are numb, and I find the tracks more hypnotic than anything else.

Eventually I just stumble out the door and as I begin to head off I hear the rumble of the 'Rider closing it up. Oh-my-goshhh! Groovy.

The Groove Connection Tour was enjoyed at Warwick University, Nov. 1998 by L.

Back to contents page.

All original text and images are ©2003 RetroActive Baggage, and may not be reproduced, either in print or electronically, without prior written consent of the publishers.